Untethered Stretchable Displays for Tactile Interaction.

Although physical buttons provide tactile sensations that allow them to be identified and pressed without visual focus, their static nature limits their use for dynamic interfaces. Conversely, touchscreens offer highly flexible, task-specific interfaces, but they do not provide the tactile qualities needed for vision-free interaction. Here, we present a stretchable display that can change shape from a flat sheet into a dome when pressurized.

Click chemistry stereolithography for soft robots that self-heal.

Although soft robotics promises a new generation of robust, versatile machines capable of complex functions and seamless integration with biology, the fabrication of such soft, three dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures remains a significant challenge. Stereolithography (SLA) is an additive manufacturing technique that can rapidly fabricate the complex device architectures required for the next generation of these systems. Current SLA materials and processes are prohibitively expensive, display little elastic deformation at room temperature, or exhibit Young's moduli exceeding most natural tissues, all of which limit use in soft robotics.

A Stretchable Multicolor Display and Touch Interface Using Photopatterning and Transfer Printing.

An intrinsically soft and stretchable multicolor display and touch interface is reported. Red, green, and blue pixels are formed separately by photopatterning transition-metal-doped ZnS embedded in silicone gels and transfer printing onto an elastomeric dielectric sheet. The device shows stable illumination while being stretched up to 200% area strain or under different deformation modalities.

Highly stretchable electroluminescent skin for optical signaling and tactile sensing.

Cephalopods such as octopuses have a combination of a stretchable skin and color-tuning organs to control both posture and color for visual communication and disguise. We present an electroluminescent material that is capable of large uniaxial stretching and surface area changes while actively emitting light. Layers of transparent hydrogel electrodes sandwich a ZnS phosphor-doped dielectric elastomer layer, creating thin rubber sheets that change illuminance and capacitance under deformation.

3D printing antagonistic systems of artificial muscle using projection stereolithography.

The detailed mechanical design of a digital mask projection stereolithgraphy system is described for the 3D printing of soft actuators. A commercially available, photopolymerizable elastomeric material is identified and characterized in its liquid and solid form using rheological and tensile testing. Its capabilities for use in directly printing high degree of freedom (DOF), soft actuators is assessed.

Real-time disease surveillance tools for the swine industry in Minnesota.

The ultimate challenge for integrating geographic information systems (GIS) into swine veterinary activities in the United States is to develop systems that deliver effective decision support to practising veterinarians seeking to control hyper-endemic viral diseases such as porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS). Through collaboration with specialist swine veterinarians and state agencies we have developed two tools designed to enable real-time surveillance for swine diseases, based on capture of veterinary clinical data via the internet. The first is an ArcIMS-based Web-mapping application that enables authorised veterinarians to explore high resolution maps of swine premises throughout the state of Minnesota.